Online Reporter
Judith Phiri, Business Reporter
ZIMBABWE businesses have been called on to embrace e-commerce and innovation in enhancing sustainable productivity and competitiveness to positively contribute to economic growth.
E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the internet.
When leveraged with innovative practices, e-commerce can significantly enhance sustainable productivity and competitiveness by optimising supply chains, reducing waste and enabling data-driven decision making.
It also promotes circular economy models and provide access to wider markets for sustainable products.
Speaking at the recently ended National Competitiveness Commission (NCC) inaugural Competitiveness Summit on Thursday in Bulawayo, the Zimbabwe Economic Policy Analysis and Research Institute (ZEPARI) Executive director Dr Gibson Chigumira said use of e-commerce in entrepreneurial businesses has great potential to improve competitiveness.
“E-commerce provides global accessibility, operational efficiency, better customer interaction, in-depth data analysis, and the ability to adapt to market changes. With the right e-commerce strategy, businesses in Zimbabwe can leverage these attributes to improve their competitiveness,” he said.
“Through the utilisation of data analytics tools that are integrated within e-commerce platforms, enterprises have the ability to monitor and analyse consumer purchasing patterns, product inclinations, delivery preferences, and additional pertinent data.”
He said innovation in e-commerce has led to the rise of niche markets, while e-commerce enables businesses to reach global markets enhancing competitiveness.
Dr Chigumira said companies that invest at least 6 percent of their revenue in research and development can see a 25 percent increase in market return according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).
“This highlights the importance of continuous innovation for maintaining a competitive edge. Also there is need for agility in business models because companies that quickly adopted e-commerce during the Covid-19 pandemic were able to maintain or even increase their market share,” he added.
He said enterprises can enhance their competitiveness by making more precise and evidence informed decisions through an understanding of their clientele’s needs.
Dr Chigumira said in Zimbabwe, the challenges to e-commerce uptake were lack of business process integration, lack of understanding of potential of the organisational and business challenges as well as insufficient documentation of best practices among others.
“To address challenges in e-commerce and innovation we need to solve infrastructure limitations, the technological infrastructure in Zimbabwe is inadequate, with many areas lacking reliable internet access and high-speed connectivity. This limitation affects both consumers and businesses trying to engage in e-commerce,” he said.
“We should also look at trust and security issues, there is a significant lack of trust in online transactions due to concerns about fraud and the reliability of suppliers. Many consumers prefer cash transactions over online payments, which limits the growth of e-commerce.”
He said economic challenges, characterised by high inflation and currency instability, have also created an uncertain environment for businesses, while this instability discourages investment in e-commerce and innovation.
Dr Chigumira said in terms of regulatory barriers, there were efforts to create a supportive regulatory environment, as existing regulations can be cumbersome and may not adequately address the unique challenges posed by e-commerce.
He said: “What needs to be done to foster productivity? We need to promote a productivity culture/mindset through training. As a country we should also adopt an ecosystems approach to promoting productivity; competitiveness; innovation which are cross-cutting issues in all public and private sectors. This calls for whole of Government and society approaches.”
Dr Chigumira said there was need to deepen value chain studies by NCC to enhance the competitiveness and viability of the value chains, while memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between NCC and the Institute for Competitiveness was commendable.
President Mnangagwa graced and officially opened the two-day Summit which ran under the theme: “Building Sustainability Towards Enhanced Productivity and Competitiveness in Zimbabwe.”
